On December 4, 1872, the merchant boat Dei Gratia happened upon a ship drifting in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Everything seemed normal about this ship; its sails were still intact, and the cargo hold was still full of merchandise bound for the markets of Europe.
The only odd thing was that all of the ship's passengers and crew were missing.
Weather in the area had been normal and there were no signs of foul play, so how
could an entire group of experienced seamen simply vanish into thin air? The strange disappearance of the crew of the Mary Celeste
has intrigued historians, mystery-lovers, and conspiracy theorists for over a
hundred years.
The Mary Celeste had set sail from New York City
in early November bound for Italy with more than a thousand barrels of alcohol on board. The
ship was manned by seven veteran sailors, her experienced captain, and the captain's wife and
young daughter, but when the crew of the Dei Gratia discovered the Mary Celeste a month later in the North
Atlantic between Africa and Portugal, no one remained aboard.
Furthermore, the
entire ship was drenched with water, its compass was destroyed, and important
papers, sailing tools, and the only lifeboat aboard were missing as well, but
there was no evidence of violence, either natural or man-made, and the entire
stock of alcohol barrels remained secure onboard.
Inquiries made by both Great Britain and the U.S. initially suspected the crew
of the Dei Gratia of orchestrating the Mary
Celeste incident in order to obtain salvage rights to the ship, but the
captains of both ships had been longtime friends and nothing of value onboard
had been taken.
Other suspects included North African pirates. But, again, the ship's cargo was intact
and pirates hadn't operated in the Atlantic in years.
There was some conjecture that the Mary Celeste's owners and its captain
had conspired in an insurance scam, but the financial benefits to
such a scheme were minimal at best.
Suggested Sites...
- The Mary Celeste: Fact not Fiction - dedicated to remembering the Mary Celeste and her passengers, as well as to investigating theories behind their disappearance.
- The True Story of The Mary Celeste - watch videos from the Smithsonian that explore the strange disappearance of the Mary Celeste's passengers and possible explanations.
- The Mysterious Ghost Ships - learn about the Mary Celeste, the Flying Dutchman, and other "phantom ships."
- NUMA: The Mary Celeste - images and information about the shipwreck thought to be the Mary Celeste
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